As the results of the 18th Lok Sabha elections trickled in, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the NDA’s loss in Lok Sabha seats in Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya were due to the work of opposition from leaders of a “specific religion.” It appears to observers that the leader has seemingly put an allegation that a religious minority community did not support BJP in these states.
Nagaland and Meghalaya have a considerable proportion of Christians, Christians form the majority in Nagaland and Meghalaya with 88 % and 75% respectively. Manipur too has a sizable population at 41 %.
June 4, 2024,Himanta Biswa Sarma pointed out these states and said, “Leaders of a particular religion actively campaigned against the BJP and NDA in Nagaland, Manipur, and Meghalaya. This religion has a good following in these states, which made a difference on the results.” The Congress has won Nagaland’s only Lok Sabha seat. The two constituencies in Meghalaya were won by the Voice of the People Party and the Congress.
Interestingly, Sarma also pointed out NDA’s successful performance in Assam, highlighting how this took place in Assam with ‘40 % Muslims’! “I am happy that with 40 per cent Muslim votes, I could give 11 seats to the party.” The NDA alliance won 11 out of the 14 seats in the state. Just last October Sarma had boasted of 12/14 seats to the BJP’s tally in Parliament!
Himanta Biswa Sarma has a notorious track for making hateful statements about religious minorities, from Christians to Muslims. Sabrang India has been tracking his communally charged speeches for the past several years. In October 2023, the Election Commission also had issued a show cause notice against him in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections for making communal speech in Chhattisgarh while campaigning for the party. Sarma had taken a very communally charged dig at the Congress leader and state minister Mohammed Akbar in Kawardha, saying “When one Akbar arrives in a particular location, he brings along a hundred Akbars. Therefore, it’s crucial to remove him swiftly, or else the sanctity of Mata Kaushalya’s land will be compromised.”
These remarks has gotten him a lot of backlash, with the Congress filing a complaint at the ECI for his comments. The poll panel, in its notice to Sarma has reminded him of the specific provision in the poll code, especially the point that says, “No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic.”
In December 2023, the controversial BJP leader also posted on X, glorifying the Kshatriya caste, which he said is “heroic” and is known for its warrior-ruling status. In the same post, he also disrespected the Shudra caste, which is categorised as a lower caste and is made of the toiling and artisan sections of society. Sarma stated that the duty of the Shudra is to ‘serve’ Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas.
Sarma was also recently in the news for reportedly using tax payers’ money, over 58 crores, to make several trips on private flights and helicopters, some of them were even to attend fellow BJP leaders’ childrens’ marriages.
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